We all stand together – NOT

25 April 2014, 05:30

More than half of the homes in my neighbourhood, Meyerspark, are occupied by black people – either as owners, or just renting the property. Meyerspark is an old suburb to the east of Pretoria. It used to be, what one would call (if you wished to sound PC), a “previously advantaged” community. (Or white, if you’re being honest.)

It has streets lined with graceful old trees and established gardens, plenty of birdlife, and very little business activity and traffic. And it used to be clean and quiet. Until the advent of “democracy.”

Since then, this suburb, like hundreds of others throughout the country, has gone to pot. I’d like to tell you my story. And you can call me a racist if you like – I really don’t care. But I’m not prepared to stick my head in the sand and pretend that my rose-tinted glasses have become fogged up with “naasteliefde” for the “beloved” Rainbow Nation.

When the wife and I were house hunting, a bit more than three years ago, we quickly acquired the knack of recognising which houses were occupied by black people. (Make no mistake: there were some whites living like pigs as well.) But in general, we could easily spot the “black” houses.

Overgrown sidewalks; windows covered with newspaper instead of curtains; unkempt and neglected gardens; brand new BMW’s and yuppie cars parked in the driveways; no dogs, cats, or pets in sight; rubbish and garbage strewn about; very young kids playing unsupervised in the street, etc, etc.

Being poor is one thing – living in filth and squalor, and being too bloody lazy to keep your home and yard clean and tidy, is another thing entirely.

The people in my neighbourhood used to take pride in their homes. This has changed. It seems as if they have lost the will to fart against thunder.

Now here is my question:

Why is it that some black people try to emulate the bling-lifestyles of superrich westerners – wearing fancy clothes; driving flashy cars; moving to middle and upper-class suburbia; buying the latest cell phones – but cannot clean up the mess in and around their homes?

In short, I have this question: Is it a black “tradition” to despoil their surrounding neighbourhoods, sidewalks, and public parks with refuse and garbage? Do they collect trash as nesting material?

Back in 1982 Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder had a number-one hit with the song “Ebony and Ivory.” (At the simplest level, the song is about the black and white keys on a piano, but also deals with integration and racial harmony on a deeper level – Wikipedia.)

They sang:

“Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony,

Side by side on my piano keyboard,

Oh Lord, why don’t we?”

I’ll tell you why:

We cannot live together “in perfect harmony” when Ebony is trying his best to turn Ivory’s neighbourhood into one massive garbage dump; having all-night booze parties; urinating and vomiting on the sidewalks, and playing deafening “music” until the sun comes up.

We cannot live together “in perfect harmony” with Ebony’s friends racing around the block, in their flashy cars, late at night.

(I will upload a photo of a meeting of the Meyerspark Neighbourhood Watch. Keep in mind that roughly 50% of the people living in this suburb are black. There were roughly 140 people at the meeting. How many black faces do you see in the photo? Why are blacks not complaining about integration and representivity, in this case?)

Paul McCartney also wrote and performed a song, called “We all Stand Together.” (Yes, Sakkie, it’s about paddas.) I’ve taken the liberty to change the words slightly to suit my mental condition:

“Win or lose, sink or swim,

One thing is certain I’ll never give in.

Side by side, hand in hand,

We’ll never stand together.”

Never! Not while the Ebonies are dragging my suburb down to location standards, and turning it into a squatter camp.

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